Values and the silver screen (Part 2)

In my previous post, I outlined some of the potential within cinema for effective value-based appeals, and how this may be employed to benefit campaigning actors. Below I continue exploring recent examples of films that I have found effective in advancing progressive messages...

Values and the silver screen (Part 1)

"Opinions are the ripples on the surface of the public’s consciousness, shallow and easily changed. ... Values are the deep tides of the public mood, slow to change, but powerful." (Robert Worcester, cited in Rose, 2011) The idea of appealing...

Don’t forget to celebrate!

As we draw toward the end of the year, I couldn't help but notice the growing undercurrent of commentary reflecting on 2016 as "the worst year ever". Such pessimistic sentiment is hardly surprising, given the worrying rise of far-right politicians, persistent terrorism, brutal warfare,...

Play-fighting…

Recently, I stumbled upon a really interesting Kickstarter project: a new boardgame called Rise Up, designed to help teach people about building social movements. The concept looked really interesting to me, and it got me thinking (again) a bit about the pivotal...

Courting commerce

With Halloween out the way, it seems that businesses everywhere have already begun gearing up for Christmas. I spotted Vodafone's first Christmas ad a few days back (and groaned a little to myself). Simultaneously, I've noticed a bit of a surge lately...

Progress on demand?

I've recently been learning a bit about Aaron Swartz – the child prodigy co-founder of Reddit, Creative Commons and RSS (among many other things). Alongside his industry achievements, his brief life was punctuated by with a combination of high-profile campaign victories and defeats ranging from...

Movers and Makers (Part 2)

In the first section of this post, I have explored the ways in which grassroots manufacturing may serve as an effective tool of progressive campaigning. In this post, I consider further examples of progressive manufacturing, and briefly explore ways in which this may empower...

Movers and Makers (Part 1)

In his 2012 book, Makers: The New Industrial Revolution, Chris Anderson – editor of Wired magazine – advances an enticing theory on contemporary life. According to Anderson, recent technological innovations – such as 3d printing, e-commerce and crowdfunding platforms – have ushered in a new era of...

Apocalypse Now? (Part 2)

This is the second in a two-part post about the narratives of climate change. In my previous post, I began considering the importance of empowering narratives and subcultures of scepticism towards climate change. Below, I consider how narrative presents the...